Impact wrestling thread - It's a Don West tribute thread now!

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Someone on another forum just pointed out that in a couple of months Impact will hit its 500th episode. 500 episodes?! Gees! That's kind of crazy. It doesn't feel like the show's been on the air for that long but yet it has.

Its been around almost a decade. Impact was on Fox Sports Net back in 2004, so 500 episodes makes sense. But ... will it make it to 500? *Cue Eastenders theme* Seriously, though, how can you make it special? What do you do for episode number 500 to make it different? Cant bring Flair, Foley, Christian, Nash, Steiner, BG James or anyone like that back. They've done the whole X Division revival a million times. They cant move to the Impact Zone for a special one off.

 

I'd like to see then bring back Jeff Jarrett and Eric Bischoff. I think they've been off TV so long that this would be pretty fresh. It would be a big deal and it would add some big characters to the show. And I suppose Angle will be back for that night as well. I remember when they did that ECW PPV. The only thing I enjoyed was the "old blokes sitting at home" bits the recorded from the people kind enough to add to the PPV without being there. You had Francine and Todd Gordon at home talking about how they loved ECW and thanking TNA for honouring the memory etc. TNA should do something like that. Have a taped interview cut with old footage of Ken Shamrock talking about his title win. Jerry Lynn talking about the Impact the X Division had on TNA. Monty Brown sharing his memories and what he's up to now. Scott D'Amore waxing lyrical about the critically acclaimed 2004 period. Don West can do a bit. Just stuff like that. Even film something with Scott Hall talking about how his TNA career was ruined by his addictions, but how great he is doing now. It would just make the night special and give people a positive view on TNA for a change. And it would be affordable as well.

Edited September 9, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay

[diamond_dust]

The only thing I'd disagree with there is Shamrock. I still like him and would love to see him make a comeback for the odd match (once the current batch of MMA leeches have gone away and been forgotten about but by that time he might be too old even for a one shot) but its the 500th Impact not the 500th TNA show. Shamrocks title win was 2 years before Impact and he was long gone before the show was ever thought up so he isn't part of Impacts history.

 

There's not really much you could do to save TNA these days. Once you bring in the biggest name in wrestling history and he can't save the product what else can you do? Austin wouldn't save them if Hogan couldn't. As great as Austin is as a character if he can't wrestle every so often he gets stale very quickly. Maybe The Rock? Mainstream crossover might save them for a while but you need to do something once The Rocks appeal wears off and/or he goes back to Hollywood. Is there anyone on the roster you can build to be that mega star to keep you interesting? The only other possibility would be John Cena but that's the same problem. You need at least 2 people in a match so who do you put him with? Eventually he has to lose and when he does it's to someone no one gives a fuck about and eventually he ends up like Kurt Angle.

[Vamp]

Wouldn't matter who they brought in I don't think. Cena might have a bit of an impact if they managed to get him booked for all the talk shows and things. The WWE changed wrestling so its all about the brand (them) rather than the superstars. TNA don't and never will have that brand.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

When WCW brought in Hogan (who was still the biggest name in the business), they promoted him everywhere. WCW had Zane Bresloff (the old WWF promoter from WrestleMania III), Ted Turner actually came from behind the shadows to stamp it, they had Shaquille O'Neil there, they brought in Mr. T and they had Ric Flair. So you had a dream match, a celebrity tie-in, money backing and a major network promoting the hell out of it. TNA have none of this. You need an infrastructure behind it. And it wouldn't be so bad if you have an imagination, but TNA dont have that either. All they ever do is the "bloke shows up on the ramp" debut. TNA blows every angle. It seems like the pay off to a big angle is a heel turn for a similar angle. Always includes a stable as well. One thing good about Heyman, was that he made stars in his little world. Which TNA has never done. When the Dudleys and Tazz and RVD showed up on WWE you still thought of there time in ECW as their prime. You cant say that about the TNA lot. You dont look at TNA wrestlers and say "TNA needs them" like you would Tazz or Sandman. You just go "obviously WWE dont want this lot". TNA should have made built from the ground up and established stars in the TNA realm. Even if they aren't stars in the grand scheme of things, at least act like it.

 

Being called "TNA" doesn't help.

Edited September 10, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay

[Doctor Whos Next]

WWE has succeeded in turning its name into its franchise. Whereas it was "Hulk Hogan and the World Wrestling Federation Superstars" its now, all WWE Superstars.

 

For example, in the 1980s, you had Hulk Hogan's Rock n'Wrestling. If they were to make a cartoon based on WWE Superstars now, it would have a generic name like "WWE Maxx" or some such.

 

Even if there is a nasty split between Cena and Vince, getting Cena onside still wouldnt reboot TNA as WCW 2.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Doctor Whos Next

[David]

There's not really much you could do to save TNA these days.

I haven't seen it in a while. Is it looking bleak for them or something?

[FLips]

There's not really much you could do to save TNA these days.

I haven't seen it in a while. Is it looking bleak for them or something?

 

To shorten a good string of failures down, yeah. Basically they poorly booked their main angles into the ground, lost or had to sack a load of talent to free up money, and from the looks of things you'll be having Hogan, Styles, Anderson and Sting leaving in the near future. Angle's in rehab, and nobody seems to care anymore. It's a huge mess that nobody looks to be trying to clean up. Dixie didn't even attend the tapings the other week.

[Loki]

The only real factor is... can they keep their tv slot?

 

Ultimately, if they get rid of all those expensive contracts and fill their roster with Jay Lethal and Petey Williams, filmed from a studio in Memphis, as long as Spike is happy with the ratings they'll survive. TNA can be turned around, but at this stage turning around means going back to what worked and made a profit. And as much as I've enjoyed large parts of it, that means back to the pre Hogan product style.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Loki

[UK Kat Von D]

I dont think TNA are in too much of a downward spiral as people seem to make out. Yeah its pretty shit right now, but its not broken beyond repair. (By repair I mean getting back to their state at the start of the year, or any state the have been in previously.) I can't see them going out of business until the money people decide it will

 

The big contracts need to go and replaced with a few smaller fresh names, get off the road and into a stable venue in a good location and the story line product cleared up. They still have backing from big companies, and while those big companies might not be willing to pump the money needed to take them to a higher level, they are still there to keep them ticking over.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

They'll keep their TV contract. That's the one thing they are guaranteed to hang on to, because Spike dont want to lose one of their highest rated shows. Most expect Spike to buy it eventually, so they aren't losing the TV contract. The question is whether they will hold on long enough. They bottom has fell out. Its not "rumourz" or stuff that Gunner and Magnus try and spin on twitter. They are dying, and they better find a way out of it quick. Expensive contracts proved for years to be manageable. Losing money every single week by going on the road and not knowing how severe the loss will be is what is killing them. If they got rid of all the big contracts (which to be fair, they almost have with Foley, Flair, RVD and Steiner and the likes all long gone), that still means you are paying 7 figures a month trying to draw on the road in big arenas with as much star power than Ring of Honor. When you are trying to lower AJ Styles downside guarantee, alarm bells must be ringing with the rest of the roster. If you can mess about a loyal servant like him, it doesn't say much about the rest of them. Wrestling isn't like a sports franchise. You can't manage debt in wrestling, because if you are on your arse you tend to have no revenue streams. How can you spend 7 figures a month, with no merch sales, no PPV revenue, no significant gate income?

 

Its been said before but TNA has to get out of the big arenas. The fact they haven't yet either means they are gambling that things will get better or they have nowhere to go. I think the big thing is whether Bischoff and Hogan re-sign with TNA. If they re-sign with TNA next month (and if its Spike that picks their contracts up), that tells me the company is headed for a sale. Because if Spike buys it there's only one person they know who can take Dixie's job as president. And that's Eric. There isn't anyone else around to take that job on.

Edited September 11, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay

[diamond_dust]

Personally I thought the best time in TNA history was the weekly PPV era, not so much the TWC ones but the first year and a bit. I still go back and watch them because it was kind of like an indy WCW. You never knew who was going to turn up each week because guys like Jason Cross & The Briscoe's were brought it for filler sports for a few weeks and had the short term storyline then if they impressed they found something for them and extended the contract eventually leading to long term deals (Sabin & Kazarian etc) or they went back to the indies. These days you have Rob Terry sat at home for 4 months, brought back to fill a decent spot and you don't care because if they've seem him as useless all this time why should a fan see them any different?

 

The thing is I'm not sure if you could do that in 2013. There's no fresh big name stars from WCW & ECW. The Indy scene has died down too. RoH is a shell of itself and CZW while entertaining isn't getting the attention it did back then. Where it was great to see Vampiro & Sting turn up mixed with some up and comers back then these days it would be just a case of waiting for WWE to release Curt Hawkins and Mason Ryan & isn't that just what TNA do these days anyway? It's easy to say TNA should've had their core guys like they did back then in AJ, AMW, Daniels and the rest, kept cycling in & out the other talent like they did and keeping and building to ones that got the best responses at the expense of the legends who were on the way out but at this point there's no Raven's out there who can elevate a home grown guy to the level AJ Styles/CM Punk were & that means no major money making dream matches when a big name does leave WWE. Would Sabin vs Big Show be a huge draw for TNA? Probably not. Could they get anything out of Cena vs Daniels after the initial buzz? I doubt it. They had the chance to fill the gap in the market WCW left but they had to build for it right from day 1. When they didn't and WWE had complete control they changed the market and it's hard to see anyone competing on that level again. TNA need to accept that they can only ever be an Indy with a prime time tv slot & better production that the others & not anything more.

[Vamp]

filmed from a studio in Memphis

 

I actually think the quality of their shows might go up if they started doing studio wrestling in Memphis or somewhere like that. I know the Universal days were studio days but that place came wih its own problems that I don't think you'd get so much somewhere like Memphis. Proper Southern wrestling's the way to go.

 

Okay, I'm half serious about that.

[HeavyT]

Run in smaller venues, is that feasible? Id love if spike bought them out, changed the name and just started from scrstch. Theyve got the built in audience of a million, and can work on building that up properly.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Bound For Glory poster. Not a fan.

Edited September 11, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay

[d-d-d-dAz]

If the LGBT community were to bring a production of 'Jekyll and Hyde' to the West End, that'd be its poster.

 

By day, a mild-mannered, well-meaning Teaching Assistant. By night, the lead in Wicked.